CHAPTER Vil.

Concerning the Variation of the Primal Matter of Minerals, in
PROPORTION to the DIFFERENT SPECIES AND INDIVIDUALS THEREOF : ALSO CONCERNING THE VARIOUS COLOURS, ETC,
We have before said that the primal matter exists in its mother, just as if in a bag, and that it is composed of three ingredients meeting in on^.
giv«s life Cometh forth a living 1Ie«h, "vthcrcin 15 no death but life. This 1% the flesh whereof maxi has ne«d, that he may become a new man, and in this f]c$h ^ud in that blood, at %i\t last day, ^hull he arise, and «haJl possess the kingdom of heaveii with Christ. Now, thi* fle>ih which ho* iu life from the »piril WTii first bom, without the generation of male tecdf firofn a daughter of Abraliam. by promi^* and became man by the Holy Ghost. So, alio, we who aspire to the kingtioni most be bom again out of a virgin and faith^ incarnateti by the Holy Spirit. Thus man mu-tt to eternity be flesh and blood ; thu* is there a dual fl«h-tbat which is Adamic and i» nothiitg, and that of the Holy Spirit which is HWx^c.—Phihs^Jfhiii Sagax, Lib. 11., c a.
* So high axui so lofty is human wisdom that it hath in its power all the stars, the firmament itself, and universal bettven. And a& the power thereof pervades all the earth, so also it extendi over heavea. The Sun and Moon arc in subjects. Even as the liand changes and compels the ^il, su also the inner microcosmus compeb the lenith to obedi* ^XiXK*—I>i Fiitt^ Lib. 1 [., c. 9.
96 The Hermetic and A/chemical IVriiings 0/ Paracelsus.
But there are as many varieties of Mercury, Salt, and Sulphur as there are diflferent fruits in minerals. For a different Sulphur is found in lead, iron, gold ; in sapphire^ and other gems ; in stones, marcasites, and salts ; likewise a different Salt in metals, salts, etc. So, too» is it with Mercury : one kind exists in gems, another in metals. Besides, in respect of the composition of these, different individuals are found under the same species. Gold is some- times found, on^ specimen heavier or more deeply coloured than another : and so of the rest. Moreover, there are as many Sulphurs of gold» Salts, and diversities of Mercury of gold^ and of the others, as there are greater and lesser degrees. Nevertheless, ali which among them receives particularity from the subject always is comprised under the universality of one and the same Sulphur, Salt, and Mercur)', mysteriously comprehended in universal Nature. In this respect Nature may be compared parabolical ly to a painter, who from some few^ colours paints an infinite number of pictures, no one exactly like another. The only difference is, that Nature produces living pictures, but the artist only imitates these. He represents the same things to the eye; but they are dead things. Now, all natural colours proceed from the Salt of Nature, in which they exist together with the balsam of things and coagulation. Sulphur exhibits the substance of bodies and their building up; Mercury, their virtues and arcana. God alone assigns life to all, so that from ever\' one should be produced that which He, from all eternity, had predestinated to be thence produced, as He determined and willed that all should be. Whoever, therefore, wishes to understand the bodies of natural things, let him learn from natural Sulphur that which he may first of all ha%'e well understood, if he seeks natural colours as the foundation from Salt. But if he wishes to know the virtues of things, he must scrutinise the arcana belonging to the Mercury of that thing whose virtues he wishes to learn. AH these matters does that one and the same Nature at once embrace in one, and separate ; at the same time distributing, removing, or completely blotting out the colours from such. Consider, I beseech you, this tiny grain of seed, black or brown in colour, out of w'hich grows a vast tree, producing such wonderful greenness in its leaves, such variegated colours in its flowers, and flavours in its fniits of such infinite variety ; see this repeated by Nature in all her products, and you will find her so marvellous, so rich, in her mysteries that you will have enough to last you all your life in this book of Nature without referring to paper books. If God, then, shews Himself to our discernment in Nature so powerful and so wise, how much more glorious will He reveal Himself by His Holy Spirit to our mind if we only seek Him ? This is the way of safety which leads from below to above. This is to walk in the ways of the Lord, to be occupied in admiring His works, and to carry out His will, so far as is in us, or as it should and can be in us. This has been my Acadcmia, not Athens, Paris, or Toulouse. After I had read many deceitful books of wise men I betook myself to this one alone, from which I learnt all that I WTite, which also I know to be true. Still, I confess, there are many more things which I do not know> but which will surge up to
The Economy of Minerals.
97
the surface in God's own time. There is nothing so occult which shall not be revealed when the Almighty wills it so to be.
This, however, I know, that after me will come a disciple of this school, one who does not yet live, but w^ho will disclose many things.